For the recent Vietnam Journalism Day, Oi editors Christine Van and James Pham headed over to the gorgeous Yu Chu restaurant at the InterContinental Asiana Saigon Hotel for a Dim Sum Master Class.
Seeing as neither of us knew the way around a kitchen (alternatingly used for storage or decoration only in either of our flats), we were only too happy to be instructed in the ways of dim sum making by the kindly chefs in the spotless kitchens. It was interesting that all of Yu Chu’s chefs come from Saigon’s own Cho Lon, and after giving us instructions in English and Vietnamese, reverted back to rapid Cantonese between themselves.
The afternoon’s class started with Steamed Scallop and Coriander Dumpling, one of the 38 dim sum varieties on Yu Chu’s extensive all-you-can-eat dinner menu (the lunch menu has about 30 varieties).
After combining all the ingredients, which included fat tiger prawns and fresh scallops, we watched the chef skillfully mold the dumpling dough and cut it into small pieces.
We then tried our hand at rolling them out, thinner on the edges and thicker in the middle, which required a surprising amount of dexterity which we unfortunately did not possess.
We were able to stuff the skins with the shrimp, coriander and sesame oil filling, topped with a plump scallop. We may or may not have been chastised for using both hands to pinch the sides together, as the Cantonese chefs sternly looked on, informing us that one must use only the right hand to make the perfect crimp.
While waiting for our misshapen dumplings to steam, we turned our attention to Deep-fried Crispy Bean Curd Rolls with Seafood which we all agreed was a much easier task. The prawn and squid filling was piped onto little sheets of paper thin bean curd and wrapped into neat packages before being deep-fried to a crispy golden color.
In the end, we all agreed that we were much better at eating the wonderful bite-sized treats than actually making them. We’ll just leave that to the professionals.
Authentic Cantonese and Peking cuisine is served up daily in the very pretty surrounds of Yu Chu. All-you-can-eat Dim Sum is available for lunch (VND388,000++ / per person) and dinner (VND 498,000++ / per person). Tel: 3520 9999 for reservations.
